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This question made me wonder what kind of craft business she ran, but I didn’t ask any further questions. Did she sell supplies for others to craft with, or was she selling finished crafts?
“So, firefighting. How long have you been doing that?” Jade changed the subject as we returned to the kitchen so I could grab some water.
“Ten years,” I replied tersely. I didn’t elaborate, and she must have seen the stiffness in my shoulders.
“Oh, lighten up, Jesse,” she said. “We’re going to be living together. With me working out of the home or out of the store for much of my business, I think I need to know what to expectout of my roommate, even if he is also my landlord. Just a typical schedule?”
“Well, I’m hardly home,” I replied, turning to face her. “You’ll have mostly free reign of the house, but on the nights I am home, I cannot guarantee any kind of warning. So, I’d appreciate a head’s up if you’re planning on being loud or up late with friends. Most nights, I sleep at the fire station.”
“Then, why do you have a house?”
“I didn’t always sleep at the fire station,” I said, refusing to elaborate.
I grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water from the fridge as I counted to ten mentally. If she insisted on being so knowledgeable about my schedule, then she needed to know that there were things I would not talk about.
“And when you’re not at the fire station? I don’t believe any firefighter works seven days a week. It’s a physically demanding job,” she stated.
“I work at a ranch the other days of the week,” I replied.
The last thing I wanted to tell her was that this was my family’s ranch and that I wasn’t technically getting paid for the work I did there. The work was its own reward, as I found animals to be much more interesting than humans most days. The work at the fire station was also rewarding, if more demanding.
When I didn’t hear an answer from Jade, I saw her staring expectantly at me as if there was something I was supposed to say.
I didn’t say anything, so eventually she took the conversation into her own hands.
“Well, not that it really matters since you won’t be here most days, but I run an online business selling jewelry. Trying to turn it into a physical store now,” she said. “If that doesn’t work out, I’m going to find a job as a nurse at a hospital around here. Hospitals usually need extra nurses.”
She sounded a bit short and some of her enthusiasm seemed to have drained. I didn’t think I’d done anything to make her mad, but she turned and walked out of the kitchen to start unpacking.
I didn’t try to stop her.
Though Jade Santana had infectiously upbeat energy, I found it draining. Perhaps I should have found a person who would also hardly be home to share the house with. It was too late now to change that, though, and I guess that would have defeated the purpose of getting a renter in the first place.
Chapter six
Six: Jade
After talking to Jesse Delaney for the first time in person, I needed some time to process. He did not seem like a friendly person, and I didn’t want to be around it any longer than I had to be. Despite the initial reluctance I had felt about the fact that he was not going to be home often, I now felt that it was for the best. I didn’t have to worry about intruding and saying the wrong thing if he wasn't home often.
What in the world had induced a man like that to think that he would get along with a roommate? Or had he done it so that he could keep the house from being targeted by thieves? He clearly didn’t want to talk about anything except the fact that he didnotwant a business run out of his house. Why was he so obsessed with that? The odds of that happening seemed pretty low, and his constantly bringing it up almost felt like he was trying to get rid of me.
Obviously if I’d wanted to run a storefront out of his house, I wouldn’t have applied. End of story.
Whatever the reason for his unfriendliness, I retreated upstairs to start setting up my bedroom and the room next toit. The rooms both had doors that opened onto a main hallway. Thankfully, the bathroom was not connected to either room. It was more of a bathroom that nestled right between the two rooms with a toilet, a small sink with a small vanity, and a shower stall. It was a beautifully done bathroom.
And it was honestly all that I would need. There was space in the shower to set up my little shower caddy, hanging it over the shower head. That was really all the space I needed because my razor could suction cup to the wall.
The first thing I did was set up my small bed frame. My parents had gotten me a new bed and mattress when I moved out on my own, which was a good thing. It was lightweight but durable—perfect for moving.
Once the bed frame and mattress were all set up, I put away all my clothing, my shoes, etc. The bedroom being unpacked also gave me a chance to think about what I wanted to do about the grump who lived with me. While I could abide by the fact that he didn’t want me inviting customers into the home, it had caught me off-guard that he kept mentioning it. .
Then again, he appeared to be a first-time landlord.
I sighed. I really wanted to get along with the person I was about to share a house with, but over the years, I’d discovered that I simply did not like unfriendly people. I could find the patience to deal with just about anyone, but unfriendliness just made me mad.
Once my bedroom was mostly set up—barring a few things that had not yet gotten upstairs—I took a look at the other room. It had good lighting and was about the same size as the bedroom. It looked as though it’d be a wonderful place to set up a little exercise and work room.
After I had finished unrolling my yoga mat and setting up the few things I had for that, I marked out a spot for my beading table over by the window. I think the table had gotten dumpedsomewhere in the living room. Once I hauled it up, this room would be the perfect space to work and work out.
